Covid-19 struck in March 2020, right in the middle of the Spring Term for school. I, like many other parents, had to make other arrangements for my daughter . I am a single parent and an esential worker and so my only option was for my daughter to stay with my 74 year old mother. She was four (4) years old at that time. Now imagine a 74 year old woman monitoring a 4 year old and having to maneuver her way around the computer with limited knowledge and skills. Understandably, I fielded many a call and conducted tutorials in order for my child to attend sessions online, uploaded documents, printed documents before hand and much more. All in all this was not an easy effort but we somehow managed to complete the term. Nevertheless, I decided this was not for me and I would not do this for another term or however long this pandemic lasted.
During the Spring Term we had parents-teachers meetings and at one particular meeting, i heard a parent expressing similar views to those I had. I was resolute in finding another solution to the current situation, so I contacted that parent with the hope of finding another solution. Then stepped in The Earnest Institute for the Gifted, Hyperactive and Talented (E.I.G.H.T.). After some initial investigation of location and expectations, I found that this was a perfect solution for me; limited students, lots of space for spacing out, and safe. With that, I started with E.I.G.H.T. with the knowledge that she would not be missing out at all.
A while passed and I learned that E.I.G.H.T. not only met but also exceeded my expectations. My daughter excelled here. In almost no time at all, she was reading fluently and spelling well. She has exceeded beyond where the general society expects her to be. She is operating way above her expected grade level. It was at E.I.G.H.T. that I learned that she excelled at Mathematics which is apparently a family trait. Sadly, I had never considered her to be educationally brilliant but E.I.G.H.T. proved that I was fantastically wrong! They have been able to not only showcase what she does well but also able to hone in on the areas where she requires more help. With that they have developed a plan for her to continue her journey of improvement and excellence.
E.I.G.H.T. has been a journey of discovery, joy and brilliance. They have been earnest in educating my child and to personalise her educational journey. It has been a decision, I have yet to regret.
